Buy Scouts
The winners for the Dataman Next iOS app are readers m13 and t3rminus – guys, hit me up via email to claim your codes!
Shopping is a polarizing experience for me, and it starts before I enter the grocery store. Increasingly, I’m noticing various organizations camp out at the entrance of the store. As I walk by, I tend to avoid eye contact. If approached, I politely say I’m not interested and move on. But the very nature of this interaction bothers me. And it gets worse when kids are involved. Parents sit back at the table while their kids shuck for money. And the stern looks from parents implies that I’m supposed to feel guilty by not contributing to said funds. What used to be a rare occurrence is now a weekly occurrence. It seems that nearly every time I go grocery shopping on the weekend, there is some group out in front of the store entrance asking for money.
This is not to say that I don’t enjoy giving back and supporting organizations. (I do.) But I prefer to give in my own way, and certainly not when I’m being accosted by folks while entering a store that I have to go to.
How do you deal with this type of soliciting? Does it bother you? Got any creative methods to avoid these types of solicitations?
Share ’em in the comments below!
-Krishna
These beautiful and intelligent people wrote
Tell me what you think!
qka
March 13, 2013 at 12:38 am1) Consider shopping at a different time.
2) Express your displeasure to the management of the store; both the on-site manager, and to corporate. For each complaint they receive, they will figure 10 of more times more people are annoyed but haven’t commented.
My pet peeve is the parents who actively do the selling in the workplace; selling that ought to be done by the kids.
Fyrebaugh
March 13, 2013 at 10:42 amThe whole idea of the kids doing this is twofold first to raise money for said organization but also to teach the kids how to sell and interact with people, if they are being not being friendly and approachable, they should not be able to bring in as much as those who are pushy and in your face. Unfortunately, it seems our society does respond to the latter type and they are rewarded for up front pushy behavoir.
Jim Hawkins
March 13, 2013 at 9:53 pmI don’t let them bother me….I only give to the small amount of groups I know that either helps the community or the kids involved…The rest I just say “No Thanks” and go on in.
With the way things are the kids can no longer go door-to-door as they did years ago…So being outside retail is about the only way they can hit the largest amount of possible contributors…..I only talk to the Store Management if they look really untrustworthy or I know that the group is really a fake organization (we have had a few here), and if they are just way too pushy and don’t take no for an answer.
These days there are very few dollars for all the organizations that use to get contributions from things like Local Governments, Local Charity Organizations, or Grants….So with the other ways they use to get funds, they now must join things like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Knights of Columbus, and even the Firefighters for MD out in front of retail stores asking you for a donation.
Jake Eskel
March 14, 2013 at 9:46 amHow are things now? (Second paragraph, rational for not going door-to-door).
Jim Hawkins
March 14, 2013 at 7:10 pmThese days too dangerous…..Too many people out there that go off at the drop of a hat and of course after you run your local Sex Molester finder, you will keep your kids close and your weapons closer…
Forty plus years ago, when I was out there with my fund raisers, it was safer to let your kids go door-to-door for fund raisers. Today programs such as the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts tell their members NOT to go door-to-door for their fund raisers. They recommend doing their fund raisers at retail outlets.
capesnbabes
March 14, 2013 at 4:37 pmKrishna, when you’re walking the floor at a comic book convention, do
you feel guilty when someone hands you there postcard or tries to entice
you into buying something? From the perspective from both sides, I try
not to make people feel guilty if they take my postcard but aren’t
interested
in buying anything at my table – likewise, I don’t feel guilty for not
buying something at every table at a con when I’m walking the floor.
I view all these organizations the same way when I’m walking in to a grocery store.
Now…
what REALLY gets me is when my wife forces me to bring all these
catalogs into my office to try and get my co-workers to buy stuff. THAT
totally irks me ‘cuz I hate being a burden on other people…
Krishna M. Sadasivam
March 14, 2013 at 8:17 pmto answer your question, Chris, – I don’t feel guilty when someone hands me a card at a convention because I *expect* that sort of thing to happen. When I’m shopping at a store and someone’s standing in front soliciting – it’s a totally different scenario.